The present invention relates to a needle structure for a tufting machine, and more particularly, to a needle structure for use in the needle bar of a tufting machine.
Since the base portions of the needle shafts conventionally have round shapes, there are inconveniences that the arrangement of the needles is not fixed uniformly because of shortages of the skill or care of the workers when the needles are inserted into grooves of the gauge plate of the needle bar, and that the needles may slightly turn in the grooves when the gauge plate is fastened to secure the needles therein by means of the screws so that the arrangement of the needles becomes irregular.
Especially when the grooves of the gauge plate have V-shaped or angled shapes, the needles are inserted and fixed at best in a line-to-line relationship with the walls of the grooves. This makes it impossible to completely eliminate the defects thus far described and invites a fear that the arrangement of the needles is disturbed by the vibrations in the operation even if the needles are accurately inserted and set in the grooves.